Cao Shuang
Cao Shuang (died 249), style name Zhaobo (昭伯), was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was the son of Cao Zhen. He initially held great power in Cao Wei as the Grand Commander but later, he lost his power to Sima Yi and was executed on charges of treason. Cao Shuang (rōmaji: Sō Shō) was the son of Cao Zhen. After the death of Cao Rui, he and Sima Yi became regents of the child emperor Cao Fang. However, Cao Shuang tried to claim power for himself and temporarily eliminated Sima Yi from the government. After having suffered a great loss against Shu, Sima Yi deemed Cao Shuang to be too incompetent to lead Wei and staged a coup. Cao Shuang was forced to turn all of his power to Sima Yi and was executed shortly afterwards. Roles in GamesEdit In Dynasty Warriors 7, Cao Shuang is shown as an incompetent man who spends most of his time with drinking and hunting, while probably being aware of his own inability. He and Sima Yi become regents of Cao Fang after Cao Rui's death, but Sima Yi decides to leave the public, making Cao Shuang the lone regent. Cao Shuang attempts an attack on Shu in order to restore Wei to its former glory. At Mt. Xingshi, he ignores the advice of Deng Ai and Sima Zhao to watch out for an enemy surprise attack and instead orders the two to attack Shu's supply depot. Once they arrive there, the Wei main camp is ambushed and Cao Shuang, admitting his fault, only escapes thanks to the efforts of his generals. Later, during one of his hunting trips, Sima Yi stages a coup d'etat and corners Cao Shuang in Luoyang. In the throne room, Cao Shuang is defeated and says that what he did was right and that the generals would only unite under him. Sima Yi calls him an imbecile and Cao Shuang is slain by Sima Shi. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms games have Cao Shuang appear as a late Wei general. Although he is above average in politics, his other abilities leave much to be desired, indicating his supposed incompetence. QuotesEdit *"All my drinking, hunting, carousing - it is all for the future of Wei! You understand, I have to be seen as a strong leader!" :"What I understand is that you have proven yourself to be a most unworthy leader. For the future of Wei, I must eliminate such an incompetent ruler." ::~~Cao Shuang and Sima Yi; Dynasty Warriors 7 Historical InformationEdit BiographyEdit Cao Shuang was the son of Wei general Cao Zhen, and became a military commander. In AD 239 he became regent of Wei over Cao Fang, the young emperor. Cao Shuang underestimated Sima Yi, his co-regent. Sima Yi refused to play along well with Cao Shuang's operations and went into hiding to show what Wei was like with Cao Shuang as its ruler. In AD 243, Cao Shuang invaded Shu, bringing with him 60,000 Wei troops under command of Xiahou Xuan, Guo Huai, Deng Ai, and Sima Zhao. He ignored the advice of Deng Ai to strengthen the defenses of the main camp against the possible surprise attacks, and headed to attack the Shu supply depot, as expected by Shu commander Wang Ping. The Shu army launched a fire attack on the Wei main camp, and the Shu army forced the Wei into full-scale retreat. Instead of trying to fight again, Cao Shuang held several feasts that drained Wei's coffers. People began crying for Sima Yi to come back, so Sima Yi captured Luoyang while Cao Shuang was on a hunt, and needless to say, began to have amnesia. Cao Shuang came back to Luoyang when it was littered with the dead bodies of his loyalists, and was captured. Sima Yi had Sima Shi execute him with his rapier. Biography Around the new year of 239, when Cao Rui grew ill, he resolved to pass the throne to Cao Fang. He initially wanted to entrust Cao Fang to his uncle Cao Yu (曹宇), to serve as the lead regent, along with Xiahou Xian (夏侯獻), Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao (曹肇), and Qin Lang (秦朗). However, his trusted officials Liu Fang (劉放) and Sun Zi (孫資) were unfriendly with Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao and were apprehensive about their becoming regents, and managed to persuade him to make Cao Shuang (with whom they were friendly) and Sima Yi (who was then with his troops at Ji (汲縣, in modern Xinxiang, Henan) regents instead. Cao Yu, Cao Zhao, and Qin Lang were excluded from the regency. As a result, Cao Shuang rose to power. However, Cao Shuang was clearly inadequate for the important job assigned to him. When Cao Rui asked him if could do it, Cao Shuang was so nervous that he could not even say a word to answer and finally, it was Sima Yi answered for him, promising Cao Rui that they would do their best and Cao Rui would have nothing to worry about. Despite his inability, Cao Shuang and his brothers, Cao Xi and Cao Xun wielded great power in Cao Wei, and he was often at conflict with Sima Yi, who had greater influence and support. In 243, Sima Yi's position further strengthened by another successful deployment: Zhuge Ke of Eastern Wu was constantly sending agents to Shouchun to prepare an invasion, so Sima Yi led Cao Wei forces to Shu county (舒县) of Lujiang Shire (庐江郡), near the border. Hearing the news, Sun Quan immediately ordered Zhuge Ke to withdraw to Chaisang County (柴桑县) Yuzhang Shire (豫章郡). Sima Yi's popularity and influence instantly multiplied as he was cheered as being able to scare away the enemy numbering over a hundred thousand without a fight and thus secured the border and saved the city from certain attack. Alarmed, Cao Shuang used his greater authority than Sima Yi, to persuade the emperor, Cao Fang, as a reward, to promote Sima Yi to the rank of Grand Tutor (太傅), which actually meant that Sima was in an honorary position and was left without any real authority in military affairs. Cao Shuang was desperate for a victory to boost his own fame, and he selected Shu Han as his target. Leading an army numbering more than sixty thousand, Cao Shuang invaded Shu Han in March, 244.[[|1]] However, two months later, he was soundly defeated by Wang Ping and Fei Yi in the Battle of Xingshi, and was barely able to escape back to Guanzhong with his own life. The most devastating result, however, was that Cao Shuang lost more than one hundred and twenty thousand troops, or fifteen percent of the total armed troops of Cao Wei's eight hundred thousand army, a serious blow that could not be recovered. Furthermore, most of the lost troops were the crack units of Cao Wei. Cao Shuang's popularity and influence was dropped to a new low as his military defeat, while in the same time, Sima Yi's popularity and influence further increased for his opposition to the campaign from the start. To fool Cao Shuang into letting down his guard, Sima Yi stopped any political activities in May 247 and later retired, and he would go further to pretend to be ill and senile. In the winter of 248, Cao Shuang's protege Li Sheng was named as the administrator of Jingzhou, and before he left for his position, Cao Shuang sent Li Sheng to check on Sima Yi. Cao Shuang and his followers overjoyed when Li reported that Sima Yi was indeed ill and dying, that he could not even hear clearly what he said. Cao Shuang sensed that Sima Yi no longer posed a threat to him and drew his attention away from Sima. On January 6, 249, Cao Shuang and his brothers left the capital city to accompany the child emperor Cao Fang to pay respect to Cao Rui at his resting place at Gaoping Tomb (高平陵), and they continued to stay out on a hunting expedition. Sima Yi and his sons launched a coup d'état and seized control of the capital city by first closing all the city gates. Sima then assigned his proteges to take over the positions held by Cao Shuang's brothers after taking the armory: Excellency over the Masses (司徒) Gao Rou replaced Cao Shuang, and Imperial Herdsman (太仆) Wang Guan (王观) replaced Cao Xi to command the imperial bodyguards. Sima Yi went to see the Empress Dowager, requesting her to give an order to arrest Cao Shuang and his brothers on charges of treason. Huan Fan, an advisor of Cao Shuang, escaped with the seal signifying the power of Grand Commander and brought it to Cao Shuang. Cao Shuang was in a dilemma, unsure whether to surrender his power or not. Cao Shuang's family and loved ones were in Sima Yi's control, and Sima Yi promised that Cao Shuang would not be harmed, as Sima was only after Cao's power. Eventually, Cao Shuang agreed to surrender and give up his power. On January 10, 249, Cao Shuang returned to Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei and his fate was sealed. Once having gained power, Sima Yi had Cao Shuang and his brothers arrested on charges of treason, then had them executed. Sima Yi refused to take the position of Imperial Chancellor awarded to him, and remained as Grand Tutor (太傅). Appointments and titles held *Gentleman of Scattered Cavalry (散騎侍郎) *Colonel of the City Gates (城門校尉) *Attendant of Scattered Cavalry (散騎常侍) *General of the Military Guards (武衛將軍) *Marquis of Shaoling (邵陵侯) - inherited by Cao Shuang from his father Cao Zhen *General-in-Chief (大將軍) *Imperial Secretary (錄尚書事) *Palace Attendant (侍中) *Marquis of Wu'an (武安侯) Category:Characters Category:Local Thugs Category:Confederate Officers